Love it! Giants fan, but I am a baseball fan first. I guess my first favorite player was Lou Gehrig. Loved the old movies growing up, and "The Lou Gehrig story" was one of my favorites. Then it guess Johny Bench, during the Big red machine days. Then of course, Will "the Thrill" Clark.

What do you guys think about Yasiel Puig? For the most part I think he's good for the game. He plays hard, hits a lot of HRs and plays great defense. Although lately its coming out that he's a bit of a diva. Ignoring other Cuban players and blowing off base coaches, etc. For now I'm a fan but lets see how he does for the rest of the season.

Yeah, he's definitely one of those players who, when they're up to bat I stop and watch. Plus he has really energized the Dodgers and put them into the playoff hunt, which is really amazing given that he's a rookie.

What do you guys think about Yasiel Puig? For the most part I think he's good for the game. He plays hard, hits a lot of HRs and plays great defense. Although lately its coming out that he's a bit of a diva. Ignoring other Cuban players and blowing off base coaches, etc. For now I'm a fan but lets see how he does for the rest of the season.

My favorite team (Brewers) suck, and their best player (Braun) is a lying cheat.

It's gonna be a looooong couple of years.

The face of baseball is about to change with all the 50 or 100 game suspensions coming up. Its going to be a real mess with the appeals and everything that's going to go down. I still can't watch that statement Braun gave after weaseling his way out of the doping charges where he just lies through his teeth. He's guilty, he knew it and yet he gets in front of a microphone and just lies away.

The face of baseball is about to change with all the 50 or 100 game suspensions coming up. Its going to be a real mess with the appeals and everything that's going to go down. I still can't watch that statement Braun gave after weaseling his way out of the doping charges where he just lies through his teeth. He's guilty, he knew it and yet he gets in front of a microphone and just lies away.

It's going to get interesting coming up to playoffs since any players can continue while on appeal. I hope they get the appeals process over quickly, or expedite the playoff bound team players first. There was word that some of the 25 are minor leaguers so they can't play during the appeal process. I hope they put them on the backburner and get the majors that are on teams headed to the playoffs first. It would be a real kick if one of them helped them in the playoffs only to get 100 games after the season was over. That would be a slap in the face.

Honestly, I'm sick of MLB (it's my favorite sport) dragging feet with PED's. If they were serious they would implement lifetime bans. But obviously they can't with the players union and I think its a sham. They don't really care or else they would do something more drastic.

It's going to get interesting coming up to playoffs since any players can continue while on appeal. I hope they get the appeals process over quickly, or expedite the playoff bound team players first. There was word that some of the 25 are minor leaguers so they can't play during the appeal process. I hope they put them on the backburner and get the majors that are on teams headed to the playoffs first. It would be a real kick if one of them helped them in the playoffs only to get 100 games after the season was over. That would be a slap in the face.

Honestly, I'm sick of MLB (it's my favorite sport) dragging feet with PED's. If they were serious they would implement lifetime bans. But obviously they can't with the players union and I think its a sham. They don't really care or else they would do something more drastic.

These suspensions could have big implications for the playoffs and will probably affect some trades. It sounds like the announcements could come down right after the allstar break. Then wait for the fireworks to begin. I really don't have a good read on how long the appeals will take. I can imagine some major lawyer/legal action that could drag this out for a real long time.

I agree with you that MLB really has been slow with the whole PED thing. For one thing they have to get a testing program in place and stick with it. I'm worried that since most of the players facing the big suspensions haven't actually failed any drug tests (as far as we know) and so if they win their appeals then MLB is going to look very bad in all this.

BTW, I'm a Mariners fan and their 4 game series with the Red Sox started out well but ended up as expected. Red Sox are a scoring machine.

Ever since Showalter took the helm I've rooted for them a little bit. Talk about a quick turnaround without any real personnel changes at the time and look at them now. Along with the Red Sox, Yankees and Rays the AL East is going to be exciting to watch in the second half.

Maybe so. Going into this season I was thinking it was going to be a tough year for them but here they are dominating. Go figure.

I had the Yankees and Red Sox coming in 4th and 5th in the division prior to the start of the season. I thought it was a tossup which would be dead last. Looks like the age and injuries I assumed would happen is bringing the Yanks down to where I was thinking. I am baffled the Red Sox have been so good. Most wins the club has EVER had prior to the break. No one could have predicted that!

Like you said, even when their starting pitching didn't look so hot, the offense came up huge for them. The amount of walkoffs has been ridiculous! Here's to hoping everything stays the course. No need for a major meltdown.

Ever since Showalter took the helm I've rooted for them a little bit. Talk about a quick turnaround without any real personnel changes at the time and look at them now. Along with the Red Sox, Yankees and Rays the AL East is going to be exciting to watch in the second half.

I had the Yankees and Red Sox coming in 4th and 5th in the division prior to the start of the season. I thought it was a tossup which would be dead last. Looks like the age and injuries I assumed would happen is bringing the Yanks down to where I was thinking. I am baffled the Red Sox have been so good. Most wins the club has EVER had prior to the break. No one could have predicted that!

Like you said, even when their starting pitching didn't look so hot, the offense came up huge for them. The amount of walkoffs has been ridiculous! Here's to hoping everything stays the course. No need for a major meltdown.

NL Central is looking damn good and tough.

Lol, that's about where I had the Sox and Yankees preseason as well. The Sox just keep on hitting, even Big Papi is still crushing it. Tough year for the Yankees with all those injuries and it looks like Jeter might be out a little longer than expected. Time for another team to win the division for a few seasons.

Pirates are making the NL Central interesting for sure, thanks to the Pirates. It looks like they just might keep their winning ways going this year.

i think farrell was a perfect fit. new manager, cut the fat, and boom! also helps papi is having a great season.

Interesting how that works-he took a team in disarray and really turned it around. Wasn't he a hitting coach or something for the Sox before he went to the Blue Jays? He certainly knows how to handle the Red Sox players.

I've been to many games there and the fans are great! The atmosphere is just as it should be, energetic and empowered. Never seen a fight, or an argument there. Of course, I realize it could happen at any game, at any stadium. But I tend to think that it's a little more likely to happen at AT&T Park...

Let's talk baseball

Originally Posted by Hawg

I've been to many games there and the fans are great! The atmosphere is just as it should be, energetic and empowered. Never seen a fight, or an argument there. Of course, I realize it could happen at any game, at any stadium. But I tend to think that it's a little more likely to happen at AT&T Park...

That's right, I forgot about that time the giants fans stomped that dodgers fan's head in at ATT.
LA fans suck, the bleachers are not safe, I went in 2010 and saw at least five fights out there. 90% there is no one there, so yeah, that's nice, but sell outs, the place is full of punks.

I'm sick of all the Irish stereotypes, as soon as I finish this beer I"m punching someone

Puig just had his jersey ripped off as he crossed home plate after an 11th inning home run to win yet again! The Blue Crew is now 2.5 games ahead of AZ in the West!

Nice walkoff HR and in true Puig style he slides into home plate. He's a unique one that's for sure. He seemed to be in a bit of a slump so it was good to see him make the game winning hit. I don't see the Dodgers missing the playoffs this year, especially with the Giants totally tanking. What happened to them?

I'm still amazed at how Puig totally reenergized the Dodgers, pretty amazing if you ask me.

Hey, the Cubs finally got rid of Alfonso Soriano. Only had to pay the Yankees 17 million to take him. Best money the Cubs have ever spent.

Evidently the Yankee's GM Brian Cashman was against the Soriano trade but it sounds like ownership overruled him. Soriano had a nice game yesterday but the Yankees keep getting older and older and older.
Ichiro-39
Jeter-39
Soriano-37
A Rod-38

Nice walkoff HR and in true Puig style he slides into home plate. He's a unique one that's for sure. He seemed to be in a bit of a slump so it was good to see him make the game winning hit. I don't see the Dodgers missing the playoffs this year, especially with the Giants totally tanking. What happened to them?

I'm still amazed at how Puig totally reenergized the Dodgers, pretty amazing if you ask me.

That's all they needed. Most of these teams are loaded with superstars and the sleepers just need a breath of fresh air to wake up and make things happen as a unit. Emotional, the game of baseball is....

We were completely invaded by Canadians last night (and presumably again tonight) for a 3 game series against the Blue Jays. Safeco field was as full as its been in quite awhile and I would say about half Blue Jays fans. It was a great atmosphere though. Fans were competing for the loudest singing of the respective national anthems and each fan base kept trying to drown out the other after good plays. Great game as well even if the Mariners lost. Probably more of the same tonight. There are always a bunch of Canadians here for this series but it seems like more than usual this time. Seems suspicious...

We were completely invaded by Canadians last night (and presumably again tonight) for a 3 game series against the Blue Jays. Safeco field was as full as its been in quite awhile and I would say about half Blue Jays fans. It was a great atmosphere though. Fans were competing for the loudest singing of the respective national anthems and each fan base kept trying to drown out the other after good plays. Great game as well even if the Mariners lost. Probably more of the same tonight. There are always a bunch of Canadians here for this series but it seems like more than usual this time. Seems suspicious...

This is typical Seattle Mariners. The biggest nights of the year is when the Canadians--or some other team--come to town. Sorry, getting out-sung in the war of the National Anthem is not a badge of pride for a real sports town. Good thing you guys make up for it with the Seahawks.

Oh, on a positive note, Safeco is a cool place to see a game, and I love that the ownership allows fans to bring outside food into the stadium.

Looks like A-Rod is done for quite a long spell. Who else got the book thrown at them, I heard there was a group of players who will be locked out???

It'll be interesting to see how much of this 211 game suspension he ends up serving. It looks like either the courts or arbitration is on the horizon. I wonder what MLB actually has on A-Rod?

Ryan Braun got an earlier 65 game time out. In this recent wave Nelson Cruz of the Rangers and Jhonny Peralta of the Tigers each got 50 games. Those two guys probably have direct playoff impact (if Brewers were in the hunt throw Braun in there as well). I think there's a total of about 13 players with some of them minor league dudes.

What's interesting is that the rank and file players seem to be pushing for harsher punishment for PEDs. This really took me by surprise since there has been so much resistance to this in the past from the players. So maybe there's a bit of a culture change happening in MLB?

This is typical Seattle Mariners. The biggest nights of the year is when the Canadians--or some other team--come to town. Sorry, getting out-sung in the war of the National Anthem is not a badge of pride for a real sports town. Good thing you guys make up for it with the Seahawks.

Oh, on a positive note, Safeco is a cool place to see a game, and I love that the ownership allows fans to bring outside food into the stadium.

I hear ya, gotta win baby. I didn't mean to imply that being louder fans was a respectable goal, I was just trying to paint a picture of the scene that night. The vibe is always just a little different when the Canadians come to town and it seemed to be a little bit more intense than usual.

All the Seattle sports fans I know demand wins out of the Mariners and the Seahawks. And I will say that there is quite a bit of tension between the fans and the Mariners right now. They've stunk it up for far too long and people are over it. Depending on how the season ends some heads may roll this off season.

You're right about Safeco-its a great place to see a game. Great backdrop and for the most part not a bad seat in the house. I live about 10 mins away and so I try to get down there at least once a month to catch a game.

Now that football is in full swing can't forget about baseball quite yet. Congratulations to the Dodgers for clinching the NL West last night. Three months ago they were 12 games under .500, made questionable trades and Mattingly was on the verge of getting canned. Then Puig came into the lineup, everybody stepped up and they went on that big winning streak and here they are now, in the playoffs.

Red Sox in as well. Looking forward to the wild card race and the playoffs. Should be fun.

Now that football is in full swing can't forget about baseball quite yet. Congratulations to the Dodgers for clinching the NL West last night. Three months ago they were 12 games under .500, made questionable trades and Mattingly was on the verge of getting canned. Then Puig came into the lineup, everybody stepped up and they went on that big winning streak and here they are now, in the playoffs.

Red Sox in as well. Looking forward to the wild card race and the playoffs. Should be fun.

How do you feel about the Dodgers celebrating in the Arizona pool. Kinda lame IMHO.

I think it was also lame for Arizona to ask them not to celebrate on the field if they won. And what's up with twitter being the cool place to rant these days? I thought that crap was for the Kardasians. I am not a Dodgers or AZ fan so not biased to either.

How do you feel about the Dodgers celebrating in the Arizona pool. Kinda lame IMHO.

For the most part I don't like that kind of stuff either and I could have done without it although it was kinda funny to see those guys out there in the pool with the goggles on. Having a pool in your ball park is a bit on the lame side though - there's not anything like that at Fenway or Yankee stadium. So maybe its not so surprising that something like this would happen. And of course if the Dbacks don't want the opposing team in their pool then win the game!

Originally Posted by OCtrailMonkey

I think it was also lame for Arizona to ask them not to celebrate on the field if they won. And what's up with twitter being the cool place to rant these days? I thought that crap was for the Kardasians. I am not a Dodgers or AZ fan so not biased to either.

I hadn't heard this before and that's really lame. Again if Arizona doesn't want the opposing team celebratin' on their turf then win the game, baby.

I think it was also lame for Arizona to ask them not to celebrate on the field if they won. And what's up with twitter being the cool place to rant these days? I thought that crap was for the Kardasians. I am not a Dodgers or AZ fan so not biased to either.

Yeah, I'd heard about Arizona asking them not to celebrate. Has anybody read a real good explanation of this? If so, will you post it? It's just too weird. You can't ask a team not to celebrate a division clinch. I have to wonder if the Diamondbacks caught wind of Dodger plans to jump in the pool if they clinched. Maybe Dodger players were talking about it and word got out which lead the Diamondback organization to ask them not to celebrate?

Either way, though, I'm a firm believer of you gotta act like you've been there before, and clinching is no big deal. Sure, you celebrate, but you do like this is only the first of many steps on the way to a championship.

Re: Let's talk baseball

Not sure where you are all getting your news from. The Diamondbacks brass did not request the Dodgers to refrain from celebrating on the field if they won. They only asked that after the on field celebration and after they go to the locker room that they do not return to the field for any more celebration. This might cause a security concern at that point.

Another tough loss for the Dodgers. Had Kershaw not been the starting pitcher today, I would give the Dodgers a chance still down 0-2, but it's going to be tough with Wainwright still available for the Cards. These teams are so evenly matched. I expected/expect a great, long series, but that's because I thought the Dodgers would win today's game with Kershaw pitching. I'm still hoping this series goes 7 games, but right now I wouldn't be surprised if it ended 4-1 for the Cards.

Another tough loss for the Dodgers. Had Kershaw not been the starting pitcher today, I would give the Dodgers a chance still down 0-2, but it's going to be tough with Wainwright still available for the Cards. These teams are so evenly matched. I expected/expect a great, long series, but that's because I thought the Dodgers would win today's game with Kershaw pitching. I'm still hoping this series goes 7 games, but right now I wouldn't be surprised if it ended 4-1 for the Cards.

Pitching has been great in both games but St. Louis is just a better team. Of, course I will be watching closely...

Clearly we've run out of important things to say out loud in my country. All you see on TV is "reality shows". All the news talks about is when next fire season is coming or they follow a high speed pursuit. Now stupid polls like this...

It boils down to one thing. Either you're a Dodger fan or you're not. For those of you who are not, F____ Off!!!